Chinese public education is widely criticized for being too utilitarian, ignoring classic literature and philosophy. One private classics school fills the gap. Tan Weiyun and Zhu Zhangyan attend class.

A teacher enters the classroom and raps his ferule three times on his desk. The class rises, bows solemnly to a picture of Confucius and then to the teacher.

Class begins — recitation of the classics, sometimes to melodies to make them easier to memorize.

The private Wang Caigui Classics School in Zhejiang Province is an unusual Chinese boarding school. In the remote school in a scenic area, there are no TVs, computers, mobile phones or amenities. No Olympic math or ferocious test competition. No hovering, demanding parents.

Instead, there are long hours of studying and mostly reciting ancient classics and philosophy, writing classic-style poems, learning traditional characters and practicing calligraphy, and observing rituals and etiquette. On special days, students, both boys and girls, wear Hanfu, ancient clothing of the Han Chinese.

School is seven days a week, with some organized outdoor activities on Sundays. Life is simple, routine is strict, rooms are spartan, chores must be completed, clothes washed. Physical exercises and martial arts are mandatory.

“Our basic education aims to foster passion for Chinese culture and tradition and teach children how to be people of integrity and righteousness, who are unselfish and care for others,” headmaster Yu Weiquan tells Shanghai Daily in a telephone interview.

His daughters, aged 13 and 17, have been studying for several years at the school established in 2009 in Suichang County. It’s around 475 kilometers from Shanghai and a three-and-a-half-hour drive north of Zhejiang’s capital city of Hangzhou.

The primary-middle school has around 140 students, aged from 6 to 18. Each class has 15 to 20 students and starting this year boys and girls are taught separately.

Also starting this year the school will only admit new students who are 10 years old or younger. Teachers believe that learning the classics should begin very early and that younger children are much more receptive than older ones.

Older students also study some English, arithmetic and math using an abacus, as well as astronomy and geography. This year human biology and reproduction is taught.

The boarding school costs 30,000-32,000 yuan (US$4,950-5,280) a year. Public school costs around 500 yuan (US$86) in tuition per semester.

The school was established by businessman Zhao Shengjun in a reaction to perceived shortcomings in public education that does not extensively teach the classics. Public education is also widely regarded as a utilitarian grind in which test scores matter above all else.

The school is accredited by local authorities as a specialized private school. Although there are other classics schools and home schools around the country, this is the only one with accreditation, according to school officials.

Despite the high cost, many parents like the idea of immersion in classics, some for short periods, some longer. Some are business people and professionals, some are farmers, others work in offices.

“But they all share something in common — they love thinking and have the courage to challenge the status quo of Chinese elementary education,” says Zhao, the founder.

The school was started as a “classics salon” in Laizhou, Shandong Province, 12 years ago. In fact, Zhao himself was a businessman without much education.

But he was inspired by a lecture given by famous Confucian scholar and education activist, Professor Wang Caigui from Taiwan.

Wang advocates recitation of the classics by children at a very early age, even if they don’t understand. The school is named after Wang, but there is no connection beyond the name.

Today Zhao’s son is 16 and has never attended a standard public or private school.

Will a non-mainstream education put him at a disadvantage?

“All I want is for him to be a good and happy man who is brave and takes responsibility,” Zhao says. “Whether he wants to attend university or enter society, it’s all up to him.

Short stays

Quite a few children leave Wai Caigui Classics School and return to their former schools after a year or two. Last year around 10 Shanghai children left.

Some parents say the isolated school and long immersion are just too much, a year is enough. Many parents worry their children cannot manage by themselves, miss them greatly and want them home.

Some say what is needed is not more rote classroom learning in China, but emphasis on creativity and innovation. Some worry that memorization is more important than meaning and that teachers are not qualified. Some instructors have been credentialed in public schools and others who are passionate about Chinese culture have received two years of teacher training.

Perhaps the biggest reason for leaving is that without knowledge of China’s state curriculum, students cannot be accepted to high school or be admitted to college through the National College Entrance Exam.

Charlie Ma, 17, wanted to attend the classics school and did so for a year. He is now back in the international class at Shanghai Gold Apple Bilingual School.

“I learned a lot from the one-year classics study, which gave me a chance to slow down, know myself better and ponder my own future without outside interference,” he says.

At first it was very hard to live without a phone and computer games, and sometimes teachers slapped children’s hands lightly.

“But the big mountains, clear rivers, fresh air and a slow-paced life really relaxed my mind and eased my anxiety,” he says.

After returning to his former school, Ma founded a classics study club.

Principal Yu claims that the children who attend the school at a young age can easily get back on track and catch up with standard curriculum after a few years.

“Students who arrive here when they are older have some troubles adjusting and catching up when they go back, especially in science,” he says.

Madam Zhang (not her full name) from Shanghai withdrew her two sons, 7 and 18, after a year.

“I still think children should stay with parents, which is more important than studying classics,” she says, adding that people can study classics at home or near their homes.

Teaching values

“Chinese classics are of great importance to children,” says Madam Li, whose 13-year-old daughter has been at the school for a year and will stay on indefinitely.

“Studying classics can better shape children’s behavior and character and every Chinese has a responsibility to protect cultural treasures,” says Li, who declines to give her full name. She lives in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, and works in real estate.

At first, Li’s parents, relatives and friends all criticized her decision to immerse her daughter in the classics.

“My parents couldn’t bear to leave their sweetheart alone in a strange place without any parental care,” says Li.

But after one year at the school, her daughter changed greatly for the better. She is no longer fussy about food, more considerate of others and less focused on herself, her mother says.

She isn’t worried about her daughter’s higher education. “The abilities our daughter acquires in this school will definitely benefit her future, much more than a useless college diploma,” she adds.

Some are not so impressed.

Last summer the school’s classics camp attracted more than 200 children for 15 days. Newspaper photographer Wei Qihao from Shanghai stayed for three days to observe and take pictures.

He says he felt confused why children only memorized and did not actually study the classics.

“If children only recite, I don’t know whether they can understand the true meaning of what they recite, which makes the recitation useless,” he says.

“If I were a father, I would rather choose the 15-day-long summer camp than long-term enrollment,” Wei says. “No matter how frustrating today’s society is, we have to return to it.”

Many parents would not consider such a school.

Ray Wang, who has two young daughters, says the school “can foster a good learning attitude and habits, but there are many other ways to achieve self-discipline and motivation.”

What Chinese students lack most is a creative spirit, he says.

Despite criticism that he says is continuous, founder Zhao says he will stay the course.

“Away from the distractions and harm caused by fast-food culture from TV, computers and mobile phones, our children can maintain their innocence longer and begin to shape their own life philosophy,” he says.

Zhao says modern education “discards the essence of ancestors’ wisdom and brainwashes us to think that a high score is the only standard to judge a student and a good job is the only way to measure success, which is absurd. China’s universities are just vocational schools.”

Shanghai educator Xiong Bingqi says classics education is more of a new option than a challenge for the country’s education.

“Education should be diversified, personalized and flexible,” he says. “Students can have the chance to study in regular schools, at home or overseas. Whether classics schools can survive all depends on courses, teachers and school management.”

No nonsense classics school keeps noses to the grindstone

Life is simple and there’s strict routine inside and outside of the classroom at the remote Zhejiang school where students have to catch a bus to get to town.

No electronic gadgets are allowed. No fast-food snacks.

Small children can only call home once a month; older children can only call once every three months. Parents visit every three months. Children take occasional and brief family breaks and they have a total of 45 days off for winter and summer vacations.

Occasionally misbehavior is punished by a light slap on the wrist.

Children rise at 6am, finish a simple breakfast before 7am and then jog around the school. Except for little ones, each student runs 2,000-3,000 meters a day and practices martial arts for an hour.

Class begins after morning exercise.

Learning is intense. Five hours a day are spent reciting classics including the “Four Books” in Confucianism Ñ “Great Learning,” “Doctrine of the Mean,” “The Analects” and “The Mencius” Ñ as well as the “Five Classics” Ñ “Book of Songs,” “Book of History,” “Book of Changes,” “Book of Rites” and “Spring and Autumn Annals.” These were required texts in the old days.

The aim is to teach around 4,000 traditional Chinese characters and also teach students to write simple poetry. Zhao, the founder, says 5-year-olds can learn classics and poetry if taught properly.

They also learn the exact meaning of each traditional character and practice calligraphy.

The school considers children’s interests and different abilities, so that not everyone is pushed at the same pace.

As they advance, students learn and recite “Zhu Zi Bai Jia,” or “The Hundred Schools of Thought,” including the works of Confucius, Mencius and others during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).

To make memorization easier, teachers compose simple melodies to accompany ancient poems and prose.

Children are not spoiled. They clean their dorms, with four to six in a room, mop the floors, and wash some of their own clothes by hand. Other garments are laundered.

There’s class on weekends but also time for outdoor activities. Every month students go on outings to the forest, climb hills and mountains or visit farms to pick produce and fruit and learn about nature and agriculture.